Two men sentenced in illegal medical equipment kickback scheme

Two Fort Myers medical equipment providers were sentenced to prison for payment of illegal kickbacks, according to the Middle District of Florida.

Ryan Williamson, 50, from Fort Myers was sentenced to one year in prison and William Pierce, 50, from Virginia was sentenced to nine months in prison for conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks to a doctor for referring patients to A&G Spinal Solutions, LLC (A&G Spinal), the defendant’s medical equipment company, according to a press release.

Both men pleaded guilty, and were charged money judgements in the amount they stole: Williamson in the amount of $1,593,564.54, and against Pierce in the amount of $803,007.25, the press release said.

Williamson and Pierce conspired with Dr. Michael Frey, an interventional pain management doctor in Fort Myers, to pay Frey in exchange for referrals to their company.

A&G Spinal then paid a percentage of those profits via checks (made payable to Frey’s wife), who was unaware of the scheme and was not associated with A&G Spinal, the DOJ said.

Williamson also paid kickbacks to Frey in exchange for patient referrals for compound pharmaceutical pain cream prescriptions.

Frey has pleaded guilty for his role in both schemes and is currently awaiting sentencing.